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Why Donald Trump won big at latest Republican debate

Watching the reaction to the Republican debate is always interesting, but last night was especially something to observe. It was not entirely surprising to see a room full of South Carolina Republicans show their love and admiration for a previous President who became Dick Cheney’s tool for endless war, and boo Donald Trump for pointing out George W. Bush lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction.

But guess what? Trump is right.

Jeb Bush didn’t want to hear it and neither did his loyal disciples in the crowd who actually didn’t have to be told to clap. The same state that booed former Congressman Ron Paul at a debate four years ago for supporting the Golden Rule took issue with Trump laying down some truth on the Bush legacy.

Why? The George W. Bush and Dick Cheney partnership represented a modern incarnation of Woodrow Wilson, and a hawkish state like South Carolina appreciates that.

Jeb Bush would continue the failing Bush legacy that saw our country commit a number of foreign policy blunders. Last night when he got tired of defending his brother, he resorted to ranting about how the businessman is apparently going around and hurting everyone’s feelings.

If only it was just feelings that a Bush hurt.

Jeb’s brother lied and many people died, however. Too many soldiers have died either directly in combat, indirectly because of combat-related issues, or suicide because of the trauma.

What did these troops suffer and die for? It wasn’t freedom.

If one supports our military, then it is undeniable that Bush misused the brave men and women in uniform. It wasn’t freedom they were sent into Iraq for, it was bad policy and political ego. Worse, the crusade for bad policy and political ego was justified by lies.

What’s even more deplorable? People continue to die now because of the bad policy, political ego, and lies.

A room full of hawkish Republicans couldn’t care less and don’t believe we’re doing enough until the number of young uniformed Americans coming home in body bags rises.

Trump got booed for ripping George W. Bush for being a bad Commander-In-Chief, and he got booed for saying the former President lied. In that aspect, you could say he lost. But if we’re measuring wins and losses purely based on the response from a room full of angry neoconservative hawks, I wouldn’t want to win and no rational human being should want to either.

But on that point, because Trump wasn’t well-received, he won the debate. While one could argue about Trump’s credentials all day, it would be a great mistake for this country to revert back to where it was under Jeb’s brother.

While we certainly can’t have an ineffective President like Barack Obama again, we also can’t have another bloodthirsty warhawk like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush in the Oval Office. Whether or not Donald Trump is the President we need is still up for debate, but without a doubt, he scored big at the debate speaking the truth about George W. Bush and foreign policy.

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About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.

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Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.